Various attempts have been made to make the cleaning of paint roller sleeves and paint brushes less arduous. French Patent application FR2869261 describes a cleaning device for cleaning a brush and a roller with a large number of tubes which are submerged in a cleaning liquid. Canadian Patent Application No. CA 2120974 describes a device to clean paint roller pads by submerging the pads in a solvent bath comprising a raised grill like base upon which is mounted a plurality of upright posts. U.S. Pat. No. 5,645,091 describes an apparatus for soaking and preserving several paint roller covers in wet suspension in a receptacle comprising a rack on which several easily removable paint roller covers are positioned in spaced relationship. U.S. Pat. No. 6,193,080 describes a support for suspending a plurality of paint brushes in a solvent filled bucket. One or more hooks or special carriers suspended from the hooks hold a paint brush by its handle or paint roller above the bottom of the bucket.
While the above mentioned inventions address some of the problems faced when cleaning paint roller sleeves or paint brushes there is a clear need for an improved apparatus which is more user friendly and overcomes the disadvantages of the above inventions.